After Effects and Meh

When I took the Strengths Finder analysis a few years ago, it confirmed a not-so hidden truth: I like to learn things.

I spent some time earlier this year taking an online course for Adobe’s After Effects CS6, a motion graphics and visual effects program used heavily within the post-production world. I didn’t know much about the production of motion graphics and if I’m honest, terms like “keyframes”* and “rotoscoping” make my eye twitch. The course is 9 hours long and comes with a zip file of exercise files, but isn’t exhaustive. It would’ve felt like I was back in school if I hadn’t been interrupted with real-life work projects and you know, lunch breaks.

This is me, complaining:

*A sample definition from the course: “Keyframes are just recordings of the settings of one specific parameter at a specific point in time.” I appreciate that the narrator used “just” – like: Hey! Keyframes are nbd.

Needless to say, several months later – I’m still at about the same spot and it’s likely that’s due to my not having a specific reason to use After Effects. Also, I know so many people who are amazing at it and the entire Adobe Suite that it’s nice to focus on the stuff you want to focus on — writing, editing — and let the pros help you out.